Chaplains talk with anyone, regardless of whether or not the patient has a religious affiliation – and some chaplains themselves are not religious.
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As more Americans step away from organized religion, so do more chaplains – but they are prepared to offer spiritual care regardless of a patient’s beliefs.
A chaplain hugs a registered nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles.
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Chaplains have always provided spiritual care outside traditional houses of worship, but their significance is growing as Americans’ religious identities change.
People in attend a talk at the American Atheists National Convention in 2014. Many Americans remain distrustful of atheists, surveys show.
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The only chaplain in the COVID-19 section of a Montréal hospital offers spiritual care to patients and families, as well to staff, who have found themselves more intimately exposed to life and death.